How to Hide a Cellar Door

Porch

• Conceal a cellar door by installing a porch over it. This approach is useful if you have plans to add a porch to your home. After installing the porch, build a trapdoor in the floor of the porch leading to the cellar door. Use flush hardware or install hinges on the inside of the trapdoor to prevent a trip hazard on the porch. Notch a part of the trapdoor to create a grip for lifting it up. If you have children, add a lock that requires a key to prevent children from using the area as a hiding place.

Paint

• Fresh paint can be an inexpensive, yet effective, camouflage. Just as woodland colors painted over deer blinds keep the structures hidden in the woods, the right paint can disguise cellar doors. Paint the cellar door a dark color if it is in a shadow near the base of your home. Match the paint color to the scenery around the door. For instance, if you have several dark green shrubs in the area, paint the door dark green. If the area around the cellar door is bare earth, paint the door brown to match.

Plants

• Hide a cellar door that opens to a garden by positioning plants to hide the door. Use bushy, evergreen shrubs to keep the door hidden even in winter. The exact type of plants you choose to hide the cellar door depends on your region of the country and the evergreen plants that grow best there.

Garden Shed

• Instead of fighting to hide the cellar door, incorporate it into a stylish garden shed. Build a shed over the cellar door. Retain access to the cellar at the back of the shed and locate a door to the garden at the front of the shed. Paint and decorate the shed to complement the style of your home.